Factory storage bin



Aug. 16, 1955 J. P. VILLO FACTORY STORAGE BIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 8, 1952 J. P. VILLO FACTORY STORAGE BIN Aug. 16, 1955 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 8, 1952 Aug. 16, 1955 J. P. VILLO FACTORYSTORAGE BIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 8, 1952 United States PatentOfliice 2,715,559 Fatented Aug. 16, 1955 FACTORY STGRAGE BEN Joseph P.Villa, Gienside Gardens, Pa., assignor to Standard Pressed SteelCompany, Jenkintown, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplicationFebruary 3, 1952, Serial N 270,541 4 Claims. (Cl. 312-1l)7) The presentinvention relates to factory storage bins and more particularly to binsof the class which are capable of being stored in tiers.

One object of the present invention is to provide a storage bin of thestated class wherein provision is made for distributing the strainsimposed on the bins, both by the stored articles and by a superimposedbin or bins, over a relatively large area of the bin structure, therebyreducing objectionable stress concentrations;

Another object of the invention is to provide a bin which is ofrelatively simple structural form and which is rigidly constructed so asto be proof against functional deformation;

A further object of the invention is to provide a bin of convenient formand superior functional characteristics, and

A still further object is to provide a bin which is structurally welladapted for handling by conventional lifttruck equipment; and which isprovided also with means for dumping the contents by operation of saidtruck equipment.

The invention resides also in certain novel structural detailshereinafter described and illustrated in the attached drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a single bin made in accordance withthe present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a plurality of bins according toFigure l illustrated in tiered relationship;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the forms of thevarious component parts of the bin structure;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing details of the binstructure within the area indicated by the broken line circle in Figure1;

Figure 7 is a side elevational view of a modified form of bin providedwith means for dumping the contents by operation of conventional lifttruck equipment, and

Figure 8 is a front elevational view; partly in section, illustratingstructural details of the bin as Well as the mode of operation of thedumping means.

Referring now to the drawings, the bin is designated generally by thereference numeral 10 and comprises side walls 11, 11, a rear wall 12, afront piece 13 and a base portion 14. Co-extensive with and underlyingeach of the side walls 11, 11 is a leg member 15, 15 respectively; andto provide reinforcement and protection for the corners of the bin,corner braces 17 are provided. A cross-brace 18 spans the top of thefront member 13 to provide additional structural support for the bin.

Referring now to Figure 5, it will be noted that the various structuralelements of the storage bin are formed and arranged to provide inherentstructural stability in the bin structure. The upper extremities 21 ofthe side walls 11 are bent angularly inwardly and upwardly and thenoutwardly to form a horizontal flange 22 Which in 1 The angle members 17at each corner of turn is bent upwardly at 23 to provide a channeledguideway and seat for the leg members 15a of a superimposed bin Illa.Additional reinforcement is provided by bending the metal of the flange23 back upon itself, as indicated at 23a, to afiord in effect a doublethickness.

At their lower extremities, the side walls 11 are provided with inturnedflanges 24 which terminate in downwardly depending lips or flanges 25and which with said inturned flanges form angular sockets or seats forthe leg members 15. The leg members 15 are formed from a generallyrectangular blank, the blank being bent inwardly along its peripheraledges to form a recessed structure having a vertical base Web 26 andinwardly projecting peripheral Walls 27, 28, 29 and 30. With referenceto Figure 4, the upper wall 27 of each leg member is dimensioned to seatagainst the lower face of the flange 24 of the side wall 11 so that theweb portion 26 will be in alignment with the Wall 11, the leg, inefiect, constituting a continuation of the wall 11.

The base member 14 is formed integrally with the rear wall 12, seeFigure 5, and is adapted to seat upon the upper surface of the lowerflanges 24 of the side walls 11. The rear wall 12 is cut out at itsupper extremities to conform in contour with the angularly bent portions21 of the side walls 11 and is similarly provided with an inturnedflange 32 which is bent downwardly at its extremity to form a verticallip 33.

The front member 13 constitutes a chute for ready access to the interiorof the bin. The forward Wall 35 of the front member extends angularlyoutward and upward from the forward edge of the base member 14, andvertical side walls 36 extend inwardly towards the vertical front edgesof the side Walls 11. The inner extremities of the side walls 36 areprovided with outturned flanges 37 which at their upper extremities bearagainst the cross brace 18 as more fully described hereinafter. Theupper peripheral edges of the side walls 36 and of the Wall 35 areturned back upon themselves as indicated at 36a and 35a, respectively,to reinforce the upper edges of the front member 13.

The lower terminal edge of the forward vided with an inturned horizontalflange between the lower face of the base 14 fronting upper faces of theflanges 24 of the Wall 35 is pro- 33 which seats and the conside walls11. the bin structurally reinforce said corners and provide sturdyinterconnection of various elements of the bin. In this respect, theflange 22 extends outwardly beyond the side wall 11 so that the flange,in assembly, will find a seat upon the upper edges of the corner braces17 to impart further structural support to the guideway or seat formedby said flange.

The cross-brace 18 consists of a channel member shaped at its outerextremities 39 to conform with the contour of the angular portions 21 ofthe side walls 11, and is adapted to span the space between the saidwalls, seating against the interior faces of the said flanges 37 and thesaid angular portions 21.

The construction of the bin is greatly facilitated by the aforedescribedstructural conformation of the various component parts. The member 41which forms the base portion 14 and the rear wall 12 is joined to theside Walls 11 by welding, as indicated for example at 42, 42 in Figures1 and 4. These welds 42 extend continuously along the side edges of thebase member 14 and continue up the joint between the side walls 11 andthe rear wall 12. The side walls 11 are jointed to the upper part of therear wall 12 by welds 43 as clearly indicated in Figures 1 and 4. Toafford further rigidity the cross-brace 18 is seated between the angularportions 21 of the side Walls flush with the forward edges thereof, andis welded as indicated at 48.

sembly by a' suitable weld indicated at 44 in Figure 3, uniting theforward edge of the base member 14 with the lower extremity of theforward wall 35, and a weld (not shown) between the flanges 37 and thebrace 18. As shown in Figure 6, the vertical edges of the flanges 37will be spaced apart from the forward edges of the'side walls 11, saidspaces being closed by the corner braces 17 as more fully describedhereinafter.

The leg members 15. may then be seated against the lower face of flange24 and the lip 25 of the side walls 11 and held in place by the cornerbraces 17 which are secured to the assembled structure by a plurality ofwelds indicated at 45 in Fig. 1. The welds are suitably located toreinforce the previously described joints as well as to provide forunion of the leg members 15 with the side walls 11. 7

Because of the substantial strength and rigidity afforded by weldedunions in addition to the neat internesting of the various structuralcomponents of the bin, the bin is extremely strong and substantiallyproof against deformation under load. ,Of particular importance is theconstruction of the guideways for the superimposed bins 10a. The angularportion 21 is, in effect, a continuous supporting strut for the interioredge of the, guideway, this support being reinforced by the. cross brace18 and upa per terminal portion of the rear wall 12. The outer edge ofthe guideway is reinforced to a great extent by the double thickness ofmetal indicatedat 23a in addition to the extra support aflorded by thecorner braces 17 at the forward and rear ends of the guideway.

The lower flange 24 and the lip 25 also contribute to the strength anddurability of the bin. In this respect, the lip 25 reinforces the flangeagainst deformation, and, with the added support of the side 27 of theleg member 11, affords substantial support for the base member 14 alongthe full longitudinal dimension of said member.

The corner braces and the particular configuration of the variouselements present a pleasing appearance and provide a factory storage binfree from rough edges and affording suificient hand holds together withsuitable means for modern mechanized handling of the bins.

The bin illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 is essentially of the samestructuraldesign as that described above with the exception however thatmeans has been provided for dumping the contents of the bin by way ofthe front wall chute through the medium of conventional lift truckequipment. To this end, each of the leg members 51 and 52, whichcorrespond to the members 15 of the previously described. embodiment, isprovided with a pair of openings, 53 and 54 respectively, whichconstitute sockets for reception of the forks of the lift truck, one ofsaid forks being shown in broken lines in Fig. 8 and being designated bythe reference numeral 55. The openings in the leg member 51 are alignedwith the respective corresponding openings in theleg member 52 and arespaced apart in the said leg members so that the forks of the truck maypass freely through the openings to occupy the position indicated inFig. 8. The bin can then be elevated and transported by the truck to adesired point, and the con -tents of the bin or any part thereof dumpedthrough the front wall chute 56 by tilting the forks and the binlaterally in' the appropriate direction by mechanism provided for thatpurpose on the truck indicated generally by the reference numeral 57.

In order to aflord a suitable bearing or seat for the forks 55 in thebin structure, I may provide channel members 57 and 58 secured,preferably by welding, under and against the upper inturned flanges 59and 61 of the leg members 51 and 52, as shown in Fig. 8. The bottoms ofthese channels lie flush with the uppenedges of the openings 53 and 54and thereby form the seats for the forks 55 as described above.

Preferred forms of the invention have been illustrated and describedherein, but considerable deviation in the form of the parts and themethod of assembly is pos-- sible without departure from the presentinvention as delined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A portable factory bin comprising a substantially flat base member,an upwardly extending rear Wall, a front piece diverging upwardly andoutwardly from the forward edge of said base member, side walls eachhaving at its lower extremity an inwardly projecting horizontal flangeto underlie said a depending lip, and recessed leg members eachcomprising a vertical web and peripheral walls, the upper saidperipheral wall being dimensionally identical with and underlying saidhorizontal flange and the inner edge of said upper wall seating againstsaid downwardly depending lip whereby the web and the associated sidewall present a substantially uninterrupted exterior side surface,

' and the said side walls each having at its upper extremity a portionbent angularly inwardly and upwardly and terminating in a horizontalflange projecting outwardly beyond said uninterrupted side surface andhaving at its outer extremity a vertical lip, said flange and lipforming a seat for a second superimposed, like bin.

2. A bin according to claim 1 including corner braces lying flushagainst each said uninterrupted side surface to unite said leg membersto said side walls, said braces extending upwardly along said side wallinto engagement with the outwardly projecting horizontal flange tosupport the latter.

3. A bin according to claim Z'Wherein a cross member extends between theforward upper extremities of said sidewalls and is shaped at its outerextremities to conform in contour with and to support said angular upperextremities of the side walls, and wherein further the said rear wall isalso shaped at its outer edges to conform in contour with and to supportsaid angular extremities of the side walls. 1 4. A portable factory bincomprising a substantially flatbase member, an upwardly extending rearwall, a front piece diverging upwardly and outwardly from the forwardedge of said, base member, side walls each having, atits lower extremityan inwardly projecting horizontal flange underlying said base member andterminating in a a downwardly depending lip, recessed leg members eachcomprising a vertical web and peripheral walls, the upper saidperipheral wall underlying said'horizontal flange and seating at itsinner edge against said downwardly depending lip, said leg members beingprovided in their vertical webs with socket openings for reception oflift elements whereby the bin may be tilted toward the front fordischarge of the contents by way of said front piece, and bars securedto the leg members below the upper peripheral walls thereof and rigidlysupporting the latter, said bars being positioned for seating engagementwith said lift elements after insertion of the latter in the socketopenings so that the weight of the bin and its contents is imposed onsaid elements primarily through said bars.

Great Britain 7 July 19, 1934 base member and terminating in

